Política vs. entretenimiento. Análisis del liderazgo conversacional de los medios en las redes sociales

The article examines the role of leading Spanish media outlets on the social network X (formerly Twitter), assessing their conversational leadership in comparison to other actors within the digital ecosystem. Employing a mixed-methods approach that incorporates Social Network Analysis (SNA), the study analysed over 570,000 tweets from 22 media organisations throughout 2022. The findings reveal that both traditional and digitally native media continue to occupy a central position in the digital public conversation, particularly on political topics, although their engagement capacity diminishes when it comes to entertainment content. Patterns of following and mentioning institutional actors and specialised sources are also evident, reinforcing the media’s intermediary role. The study concludes that, despite the loss of their information monopoly, media outlets still shape the digital agenda in key areas and are strategically adapting to the participatory logic of social media. The article offers empirical evidence of the digital legitimacy and authority of media in today’s public sphere, providing valuable insights for the study of political communication and media governance in hyperconnected environments.